September 11th Memorial - Never Forgotten

I will pause today to reflect and pay the due homage and honor to the
firefighters, police men and women, the rescued and the rescuers, the
fallen, the injured, the precious dear ones who perished, the still
grieving and the brave passengers of Flight 93.

I
vividly remember September 11th 2001, getting ready for a plain old
work day, the TV tuned to my morning talk show running back and forth
through the house preparing to leave. At first I thought the events
taking place was some kind of hoax, then I began shaking. The first
tower of the trade center began to crumble, the TV commentators voices
in a frenzy describing the indescribable. I could not digest what was
happening so I picked up the phone to call the man in my life to grab
hold of something steady. People jumping from the burning buildings to
their death. The second tower came crashing down as we watched each
terrifing scene unfold. A stunned silence ensued. Shock, disbelief and
fear gripped hold of us.

Unable to get our equilibrium back,
we clung together and camped out in front of the TV for weeks except to
go to work, images replaying over and over again of the horrible events
of September 11th and the aftermath and trying to make sense of the
horror and calm our anxious fear state. The deadly quiet of no
airliners or airplanes on decent to LAX over our home was disturbing,
our tranquil 'safe' existence in Southern California suburbia had been
banished. Red alerts, yellow and then none.

I visited the World
War II memorial in Pearl Harbor three years ago. My father served in the
Navy submarine service in Pearl Harbor during WWII and survived, he is
84 now. The experience highlighted for me another heavy price tag paid
for our country's freedom in human lives.This experience finally
comforted me some. I felt proud and grateful to be an American as I
stood out over the deck of the Arizona and read the names of the fallen
and those entombed in their watery grave. Service and sacrifice for me,
for my freedoms.

The innocents who perished on 9/11 are heroes.
They did not know they were at war as they did not chose to serve or
offer to sacrifice their life in the war of terror. How much more
precious is this 9/11 memorial remembrance of these citizen heroes,
then? Remember them and never forget them.